She will be loved
by Skovko
Summary: Sitting on the tour bus, Chris is watching videos on YouTube of a girl named Piper singing. Seth joins in at first and then Roman follows. Soon the entire bus is listening to her. Hearing her story about not having anyone makes Seth urge Chris to reach out to her. They all follow as he makes contact and when things go downhill for her, new allies suddenly show up in her life.
1. Introducing her to the guys

Seth made his way down the aisle of the bus, spotting Chris in the back with his headphones in his ears and his eyes glued to his tablet. Seth smiled as he thought Chris was probably watching some metal band perform as he often did and he walked down to him and dumped down on the seat next to him. Chris removed one of his headphones and looked at Seth.

"What are you watching?" Seth asked.  
"This girl singing," Chris answered.  
"A girl? Is she any good?" Seth asked.

Chris chuckled as he unplucked the headphones from his tablet and turned up the volume, allowing a rough yet sweet voice to reach Seth's ear. He moved closer to see the person the voice belonged to as he was drawn in by her version of Nightwish' song "The Riddler". He saw a blackhaired beauty standing in a dark bar in front of a microphone, just singing her heart out.

"Karaoke bar?" Seth asked.  
"She goes all the time. Mostly she sings rock and metal but she also sings other stuff from time to time," Chris answered.  
"She's really good. How did you find her?" Seth asked.

Chris grinned as he clicked his way through her channel and pulled up a video of her singing Fozzy's song "Judas".

"Of course. She sings your song and you're hooked," Seth laughed.  
"Yo Jericho, when did you start sounding so good?" Roman's joking voice reached them as he walked down the aisle.  
"Come see this, Roman. She's really good," Seth said.

Roman sat down on the other side of Chris and watched the woman sing.

"Wow," he said lowly.  
"Wow indeed. And she's a wrestling fan too. She often wears one of our shirts," Chris said.  
"So she's the perfect woman," Roman chuckled.  
"What do your wife think about you watching another woman like that?" Seth asked.  
"It's just music, Seth. Nothing dirty. And she follows her too. We've both kinda fallen in love with her and often jokes about adopting her," Chris answered.  
"Adopting her?" Seth laughed.  
"She doesn't have any family," Chris said.  
"How do you know that?" Seth asked.

Chris clicked through her channel again to pull up a video of her sitting at home in front of the camera.

"She does these personal videos from time to time," Chris said.  
"Those eyes sure draw you right in," Roman said as he stared at her piercing green eyes.

They watched as a goth guy walked into the shot, sat down next to her and kissed her temple.

"Boyfriend?" Roman asked.  
"Her brother. Or best friend. She'll explain now," Chris said.

 _"So this here is my brother Dexter. Not brother by blood but he's the only type of family I have left. My best friend. Most of you don't know this but I lost my parents at a very young age. I grew up in fostercare and when they kicked me out at 18, I had no one. And then I met Dexter here and we just clicked right away. Two broken souls finding each other to heal together."_

She smiled widely at the guy sitting next to her before he started speaking.

 _"And this is my sister. As her I don't have any family either although they're very much alive. They can't accept me being gay so they kicked me out and told me to never come back until I can act accordingly, but Piper here loves me for who I am no matter what. It's us against the world."_

"I get it now. Why you wanna adopt her," Seth said.  
"There's just something about her that makes you wanna continue watching her," Roman said.  
"You should see her seductive side then," Chris chuckled.

Again he clicked through her channel to find the video he was searching for.

"Now, this isn't your normal love song and it really shouldn't be seductive at all but just watch how she moves and every little thing she does. And then listen to the creepy text on top of it," Chris said.

He pressed play and a video of her back in the dark bar started. The music started and she sang Neon Hitch's song "Poisoned with love". Chris was right. Something about her small movements, the way she looked around, played with her hair, tilted her head, moved her hands around, everything she did was seductive even though the lyrics weren't. Roman held his breath as he watch her run her fingers up her lower arm as she sang.

 _"Blood on my sleeve_  
 _I give more than you need_  
 _Yes I do"_

"Fuck," he muttered as the creepy text sucked him right in.  
"I told you so," Chris giggled.

The song ended and the three men looked up just to realize that basically every man on the tour bus was down there, listening to her sing as well.

"Who was that?" Heath asked.  
"Piper," Chris answered.  
"What a voice," Dean said.

Chris nodded as he started going through her channel again, wondering what to play for the growing audience next.

"Do you ever reach out to her? Comment on her videos or something like that?" Roman asked.  
"I've been thinking about it but I doubt she'll believe me if I write her and say I'm Chris Jericho," Chris answered.  
"So call her out on Twitter," Seth suggested.  
"That's actually not a bad idea. I don't know if she uses Twitter though," Chris said.  
"Link her Fozzy video and ask your fans to find her for you," Seth said.

Chris smiled widely as he realized Seth's idea was nothing but brilliant. He quickly linked the video on his Twitter, asking his fans to find this mysterious Piper so he could tell her personally how he felt about her doing a cover of his song.

"Now we'll just have to wait and see," Chris said once it was done.  
"Play something else with her," Roman said.


	2. Fangirl and fanboy

"Piper!" Dexter shouted through her apartment as soon as he entered it.  
"Wow, Dex, where's the fire?" She asked as he came running into her livingroom.  
"Log on Skype, log on Skype, log on Skype!" He chanted while pointing at her computer.

She had no idea what was going on but he had a wild look on his face so she clicked on the Skype icon and logged on.

"Chris Jericho called you out on Twitter," he said.  
"What?" She asked.  
"He linked your Fozzy video and asked his fans to find you," he said.  
"Oh shit, I'm doomed. He's gonna call me out for copyright and sue my ass off," she said.  
"No, it's not like that. He likes it," he said.  
"What?" Again she blurted out the word.  
"So I wrote him a private message and told him you don't use Twitter and gave him your Skype info instead," he said.  
"You did what?" Her voice was still up high.  
"Don't give me that. The fangirl inside you is singing happy tunes right now," he giggled.

She turned her focus to her computer as a friend request popped up on Skype. Feeling nervous she stared at it for three seconds before accepting it with shaky hands. As soon as she had accepted it, a video call came through. She took a deep breath and accepted it and there a smiling Chris Jericho appeared on her screen.

"Oh my god, you're Chris Jericho!" She shrieked.  
"Oh my god, you're Piper... and I just realized I don't know your last time," he said excited.  
"Johnson. Piper Johnson. I'm sorry, I'm just having a little fangirl moment here," she said.  
"And I'm having a fanboy moment too," he said.

Hearing him being just as thrilled about the conversation sent her into laughing mode. The ice had been broken, they both looked like fools and now the conversation could continue more normal.

"So my wife and I have been following your channel for a long time. You are amazing. Your version of Judas is incredible," he said.  
"Thank you," she blushed.  
"So the other day on the bus I introduced the guys to you. It just started with Seth and Roman but your voice drew almost every man down to us to hear you," he said.  
"God, I feel so embarrassed," she said and smiled.  
"Don't. I'm pretty sure you got a bunch of new followers in the guys," he chuckled.  
"Well, tell them I said thank you. It means a lot," she said.  
"So you're a wrestling fan. Tell me who's your favourite," he smiled widely as if he tried to make her say his name.  
"I won't tell. If you've made the guys watch me, you're gonna tell them. It's embarrassing," she said.  
"What's embarrassing about having a favourite?" He laughed.  
"Fine, I'm a Shield girl like every other fangirl out there," she said and blushed.  
"Well, they sure are Piper boys as well, especially Roman and Seth. Roman went crazy over your version of Poisoned With Love," he said.  
"God!" She muttered.

She ran her hand down her face, feeling even more embarrassed now. He chuckled at the sight of her.

"So I'm just gonna leave a comment on your Judas video as we speak so you know it's the real Chris Jericho commenting on it and if you'll be so kind, maybe send your address to me and I'll send you some shirts and other stuff," he said.  
"You'd do that?" She asked surprised.  
"Of course. I'm a fan, Piper, a real fan," he laughed. "But I gotta go. Leave your info and I'll talk to you at some other point. And keep singing because you're freaking amazing."

The call ended and she quickly wrote her info in the Skype window and sent it. Then she went to her Judas video to read the comment sent from his name.

 _"Keep rocking!"_

"So I found Piper," Chris said a couple of hours later as he sat in the locker room.  
"You did?" Roman asked.  
"Talked to her and all. She's so sweet. And she's a Shield girl," he laughed.

Roman, Seth and Dean laughed with him by that statement.

"Of course she is. I mean, look at us," Dean said and flexed.  
"For crying out loud, Dean," Roman chuckled. "She's not even here to see you."  
"Guys, guys, new video is up from her," Chris cut them off.

They all moved in close as Chris pressed play.

 _"So Chris Jericho of all people contacted me today and the fangirl inside me is beyond thrilled. Such a nice man. But I feel like I should call you out, Chris. You and me, if our paths ever cross, are gonna go at it in a duet. What do you say? Do you accept my challenge? I'm thinking since we both like Helloween that we should do the only duet they ever made. Light The Universe. But as for tonight. How about a duet with you and me, Dex?"_

Dexter moved into the line of shot.

 _"Sure, girl. Should we do Within Temptation this time? What Have You Done?"_

She clapped her hands in excitement.

 _"Yes, that's what we're gonna do. Great choice!"_

Chris giggled as he typed in a comment on her video.

 _"I accept."_


	3. He was everything I had

Two weeks had passed since Chris had talked to Piper on Skype. It wasn't that he didn't still keep track on her. He very much did so on YouTube. He just didn't feel like digging too deep into her life too soon. And he had a busy job. So instead he and the guys held their own little private concerts while traveling every time she put up a new video.

After the show last night she had put a video up late. She would always do that, put up the videos from the same night before she went to bed. Her and Dexter had been having fun, trying their hardest to sing Within Temptation's song "And We Run" but it had ended in so much laughter since Dexter really wasn't good at rapping. He had a good, solid voice and he could growl and scream too, but rap was apparently his nemesis. Nevertheless, the men had had a good time calming down after the show to her carefree smile and beautiful voice.

There they were in the middle of the afternoon, all of them in a moving bus towards the next arena. The mood was high as usual and laughter could be heard from different locations from time to time.

"Oh, looks like our girl put a new video up," Chris suddenly said.

How Piper had become "our girl" in their world, no one could really remember. It just happened somehow after Chris had talked to her and they all started watching her videos together but she was never called anything else between the men. It wasn't meant in a sexual manner although some of them sure could picture themselves rolling around in the sheets with her but she meant something different in everyone's eyes. A friend, a daughter, a sister, a lover... their girl.

"Play it," Roman said.

Chris pressed play and everyone immetiately went dead quiet as they saw her sitting there all broken down in tears.

"What's going on?" Roman asked lowly.  
"How should I know?" Chris hissed.

For ten seconds she just sat there crying before she finally started speaking.

 _"I told myself to do this without crying and now look at me. I can't... I can't... shit! He's gone. Dexter's gone. He left my apartment this morning and someone... someone took him away from me. Someone killed him. Oh god, Dexter, why? He was all I had and now... fuck! It's all happened so fast. The police are investigating and his family suddenly showed up after all these years pointing their fucking fingers at me. I was the one who fucking loved him! I was the one always there for him when they couldn't accept him!"_

They watched as her voice went from sad into full blown anger as she shouted the last parts. Then she went silent for around ten seconds again as she tried to control her breathing and tears while getting her voice back under control.

 _"They can say what they want about him or me. I don't care. I knew the real Dexter. I knew the beautiful soul that they didn't wanna see. He was everything I had. How am I gonna go on without him?"_

"Shit!" Seth hissed as the video stopped.  
"What the fuck just happened?" Randy asked, not wanting to believe what they had just seen.

All Roman could hear inside his head was her last sentence in the video.

 _"How am I gonna go on without him?"_

And with that thought followed the creepy suicide part of the "Poisoned With Love" song that he had played way too many times when he was alone and wanted to see and hear her before falling asleep.

 _"Blood on my sleeve_  
 _I give more than you need_  
 _Yes I do"_

"Call her!" He growled at Chris.  
"Huh?" Chris looked up.  
"Call her on Skype! Now!" Roman demanded.  
"Right!" Chris quickly said.

Chris quickly opened Skype and called her. They all sat there in silence, listening to the sound of Skype sending out the request to her, but she didn't answer it.

"Damn it!" Roman muttered.  
"Get on your phones and make YouTube accounts in your own names. It'll take two minutes. Bombard her with messages to let her know she's not alone," Chris quickly said.

Everyone took out their phones and did as he had demanded while he typed in a message for her in the Skype window.

 _"I understand if you don't wanna talk to anybody right now but you're not alone. In a few minutes you'll receive a lot of messages on your video and every message sent from a wrestler's name is in fact from that wrestler. We are all here for you. Whenever you feel ready, reach out, call me. I'm here. We're all here."_

She read Chris' message through tearfilled eyes. His words meant a lot to her even though she couldn't understand why he and everyone around him seemed to care so much about her. They had never even met her. She went back to her video and saw it was filling up with comments from so many wrestlers as Chris had just promised.

 _Seth Rollins:_  
 _Call us whenever you're ready. You're not alone._

 _Dean Ambrose:_  
 _I know too well about being broken. Let us help you heal._

 _Randy Orton:_  
 _Whatever you need, whenever you need it, all you have to do is reach out._

 _Heath Slater:_  
 _Don't cry, pretty girl. We are all here for you._

 _Roman Reigns:_  
 _If there ever was a time I wish I could do more than just type in some words, it would be now. I'm begging of you to reach out to us. We're all here for you._

The messages kept coming from more wrestlers and she couldn't believe it. She wanted to reach out and say something but what could she say? Somehow a simple thank you didn't seem to cover it but it was the only words she could think of so that's what she typed to Chris, just those two words, knowing he would read them out loud for the others. Then she turned off her computer as the tears kept running, just wanting a moment of peace in the giant chaos inside her.


	4. Funeral

Exactly one week had passed since that dreadful day where Dexter had been killed and no one had heard from her. No videos had been posted on her YouTube channel and she hadn't been online on Skype. Even though the guys didn't really know her, everyone feared the worst. No one really talked about it, maybe a quick sentence here and there, but everyone was too afraid to speak out loud, not wanting their shared fear to be true.

As always Chris sat in the back of the bus as it transported them all towards the next arena. He had just raised his bottle of cola to his lips while his other hand roamed around on YouTube when he suddenly saw it. He spit out the cola on the table as he forgot to swallow before shouting for the others.

"Guys! Guys!" He shouted while coughing.  
"What?" Seth looked down at him.  
"Piper!" He shouted. "She's back online!"

They all quickly made their way down to Chris and once everyone was there, he clicked play on the video she had uploaded. She looked sad and extremely tired but at least she managed to hold the tears within this time.

 _"So a lot has happened this last week. Since I was the last person to see Dexter alive, I had my share of interviews with the police. Three days after... god, I hate saying these words... his murder... oh Dex, I miss you so much."_

She took a couple of deep breaths before continuing.

 _"Three days after a video surfaced of his murder. Some idiot with a camera phone had recorded it and instead of going to the police like a normal person, he posted it online and finally after three days, someone called the police. Dex didn't even know the man. Just someone saying he doesn't like when people dress differently and as you all know, Dex is... was a goth."_

The tears showed in her eyes when she had to talk about him in past tense and she quickly reached up to dry her eyes. She took another deep breath and then got up from her seat and walked out of camera shot. A moment later she came back with a guitar in her hand.

 _"Now that his murderer has been found, the police has finally released his body to his family and the funeral is this Saturday at 1 PM. Unfortunately I can't go. His father and two uncles cornered me outside the police station and told me that if I show my face, they will beat me up. Now I've been known to take a swing at people from time to time but I can't go up against three grown men. All I want is saying goodbye to my friend, my brother, and I'm not allowed to. They say I turned him gay. They completely forgot they threw him out of their lives for being gay before I even met him."_

"Poor girl," Dean muttered.

 _"So to honor Dex, I wanna sing one of his favourite songs. I don't feel like going to the bar to perform. It feels wrong without him. So instead I'm gonna do it here with my guitar and I apologize in advance if I start crying and sound like shit. Anyway, Dex really loved Skillet's song "Does It Matter". He used to say he would hear it all the time when he thought about how his family treated him. And he was right. That text now works for me because if I wasn't here tomorrow, does it really matter at all?"_

"Yes, it god damn matters!" Roman roared.

They all looked at the angry man next to them but quickly turned their attention back to the screen as she started playing her guitar and singing the song. Everyone was silent while listening to the sad and dark message of the song.

 _"If I wasn't here tomorrow would anybody care_  
 _Still stuck inside this sorrow_  
 _I got nothing and going nowhere"_

"That's it!" Chris growled.  
"Huh?" Seth asked.  
"Good thing we're off work this weekend. We got a funeral to tend to," Chris said.

That Saturday morning all the guys met up. Before spreading out in the cars and getting on the road, they had a quick meeting and morning coffee. The mood between them was weird. They were about to surprise their girl who had never met them. Luckily Chris had made her send her address back when they first talked on Skype so it was gonna be easy.

"Oh, she just posted a video. Let's see what she has to say before we leave," Chris said and pressed play.

 _"Today is the day of the funeral. All I wanna do is say goodbye to him but I'm not allowed to. Instead I've dressed up in his favourite black dress. He always said he loved seeing me in this. What do you say?"_

She took a couple of steps back and swung around slowly to show the dress to the camera.

 _"I'm gonna light some candles and have my own little ceremony for him at home. At least they're gonna cremate him afterwards. He always wanted that. Unfortunately they're not gonna let his ashes run with the stream in the ocean like he wanted to. They're gonna take the urn home and keep it. We can't win all the time, Dexter."_

"We're coming for you, baby girl," Roman said once the video ended.  
"Alright, let's go," Seth said.

Piper wondered who could be knocking on her door a couple of hours later. She hadn't had anyone but Dexter in her life and of all days ever, she really didn't wanna deal with a sale's person or someone having the wrong address or anyone at all for that matter. With an annoyed look on her face she walked to the door and opened it. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped and then she closed the door again, shaking her head to make the hallucination go away. She opened the door again but they were still there. Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Miz, Randy Orton, Heath Slater, Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston.

"Let's go," Chris said and held his hand towards her.  
"Where to?" Her voice was barely heard but she did take his hand.  
"You got a funeral to go to. You have to say goodbye to your brother," Chris said.

It was in that moment she broke down, sobbing and falling to her knees, finally understanding that this was real. Those eleven men really were standing in front of her, ready to escort her to a place where she wasn't welcomed, willing to stand by her side and make sure she had her final farewell with the one person who had been in her life for so many years. She felt Chris' hands help her up and he escorted her outside without a word. Three cars were parked and he walked her towards one of them and opened the door to the backseat. She crawled in and sat in the middle while Roman and Dean soon joined her on either side. Chris took the driver's seat while Seat took the passenger's seat. She looked out of the window to see AJ, Miz, Baron and Heath enter one of the other cars while Kofi, Kevin and Randy entered the third one.

"Where to?" Chris asked.  
"Huh?" She turned her attention towards him.  
"I need directions to the church," he said and handed his GPS to her.  
"Right," she said.

She quickly entered the address and handed it back to him. He started the car and the other two cars followed them as he started driving. She felt like a nervous mess, slightly trembling between the two big men on the backseat. She felt a hand take hers and turned her head to see Roman looking at her with warm, friendly eyes.

"It's gonna be okay, baby girl. You're gonna go in there with your head held up high," he said.  
"And if anyone gives you any trouble, well, that's what we're here for," Dean said and cracked his knuckles.

The three cars parked and everyone exited them. Again she felt nervous. Her feet wouldn't move. She felt Roman's hand on her lower back, gently urging her to move forward towards the church.

"We're here for you," he assured her.

She nodded and started walking, all eleven men following her as her personal escort. Eyes widened inside the church as she walked in. Dexter's father immetiately stood up but he was quick to sit back down when he saw the men following her. He knew it wasn't a fight he was gonna win.

"Dex," she whispered as she saw the coffin at the end of the aisle.

Again Roman took her hand and got her to sit down on one of the benches. Chris sat on her other side and took her other hand. No one said a word and shortly after the funeral started. Through it all both men sat there, just holding her hands, silently telling her they were there for her.

An hour and a half later they were all back in her apartment. She had no idea how to thank them all and still she had a hard time believing they had actually done that for her. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined something like that happening.

"So coffee? Beer? Water?" She asked nervously.  
"You don't have to give us anything," Randy said.  
"I just wanna say thank you somehow," she said.  
"You can always repay us with a song," Miz smiled warmly at her.  
"And dedicate it to us on your channel," AJ added.  
"I guess I can do that," she said as she tried to smile back.

Chris walked over and placed his arm around her shoulders while looking down at her.

"Are you gonna be alright?" He asked.  
"Eventually, yes. Once I move and get my life back on track, it's gonna be fine. I have to believe that," she answered.  
"You're moving?" Seth asked.  
"Yeah, well, I kinda have to," she shrugged her shoulders.

It was clear there was something she wasn't telling them. She didn't wanna burden them with her problems. They had already done so much for her by showing up and making sure she got to say goodbye to Dexter but this was the end of the line. They would go back to their lives and she would stay here.

"What aren't you telling us?" Roman asked in a demanding voice.  
"Nothing important," she tried.  
"Spit it out," still that demanding voice.  
"Alright," she sighed. "I was fired. My boss told me to get back to work Wednesday or I would be fired. Apparently 'fuck you' isn't the right answer to give in that situation so he fired me."  
"What does that have to do with moving?" Dean asked.  
"When I can't pay my rent next month, I can't really stay here," she answered and looked down at her feet.  
"So where are you gonna go?" Miz asked.  
"I don't know. It's Summer so I can sleep outside for a while. I just have to find another job and then another apartment when I have money again," she answered.

Everyone went silent around her for ten seconds.

"No!" Chris' loud voice broke the silence.

She looked up at him to see the determination on his face.

"Huh?" She asked.  
"I said no. Go pack your things. You're coming home with me," he said.


	5. Stuffed tiger

It felt weird walking through Chris' house with her guitar case in one hand and her stuffed tiger in the other. Behind her Roman, Seth and Dean followed silently, carrying her bags of belongings.

"This will be your room," Chris said as he opened a door.

She walked inside and quickly took a look around. Not the normal small guest room most people had. This room actually was an okay size and with a double bed. The guys quietly put down her bags and she put her guitar up against the wall before turning around to look at them, still holding on tight to the stuffed tiger.

"Thank you," she croaked as she fought the tears back.  
"Don't mention it," Chris said and smiled.  
"So what's the story about this?" Dean asked.

Before she could react, he took the stuffed tiger out of her hand and threw himself on the bed with the animal in his hands.

"Give that back," she begged.

He gave her a sassy smile before throwing the tiger over her head to Seth who caught it right away.

"Say please," Seth taunted.  
"Guys, stop," Roman tried.  
"Give that back!" She shouted.

Everyone went quiet and stared at her and for a moment she knew she probably looked like she was insane. What grown woman goes crazy over a stuffed animal?

"Dex gave it to me," she said lowly.  
"Ah shit, I'm sorry," Seth said and immetiately handed it back to her.  
"It's okay, you didn't know," she said, trying to smooth things out.

Before she knew it, an arm snaked around her waist from behind and she was dragged down on the bed where Dean immetiately held on tight to her and snuggled up behind her against her back.

"I'm sorry too, pumpkin," he said.  
"Dean..." Roman tried.  
"What?" Dean asked.  
"Let it go, Roman. She might as well get used to him and his weird ways right away," Seth chuckled.

She didn't complain though. It felt nice having someone to hold her on this horrible day. It didn't matter who it was. Just the feel of a strong arm and a wide chest, someone holding her, trying to keep her safe.

"If we were alone right now, pumpkin..." He quietly sang.

There went the calm moment and she instantly blushed. Now she knew what Seth meant by Dean's crazy ways.

"Dean, quit it. Last thing she needs is a bad one night stand with you," Roman said.  
"I'm not bad," Dean grumbled.  
"Please," Seth rolled his eyes, agreeing with Roman.  
"Don't listen to them, pumpkin, they're just hating on me for always getting the chicks," he said and leaned his head up to kiss her cheek. "I'm perfect in bed."  
"That's it!" Roman growled.

He reached down and grabbed Dean's arm, yanking him up from the bed, and soon the two men were wrestling each other on the floor while Seth, Chris and Piper were laughing at the sight. Finally Seth grabbed Dean and held him back while Roman got up from the floor, laughing too.

"Fighting for the lady already, eh?" Seth chuckled.  
"She's mine!" Dean shouted maniacally.  
"No, she wants a real man," Roman said and rolled his muscles.

It was clearly a show they were putting on, trying to make her feel a little better, and it worked. When they all looked at her, she was one big smile, and for the first time that day her eyes were shining. Roman grinned at her and stuck out his fist which she immetiately bumped with her own.

"That's my girl," he said and winked.  
"Right guys, let's leave her to it," Chris finally opened his mouth and looked at her. "I'm gonna give you some privacy to unpack or whatever you want. Feel free to roam the house and garden all you want. No place is off limit. Well, the bedroom when me and Jessica are in there, but other than that. The bathroom is right across from your room."  
"Thank you," she said quietly and nodded.  
"Alright guys, out!" Chris barked at the three men.  
"We'll come back tomorrow," Seth said.  
"You will?" She asked.  
"Of course. Who better than us three to give you a good day?" Dean asked and winked.  
"Out!" Chris barked louder.

They all laughed as he pushed them out of her room and closed the door behind them.

"None of you assholes touch her!" Chris sneered from the other side.  
"What is she touches us first?" Dean asked.  
"Off limit!" Chris barked.  
"You're no fun," Dean chuckled.  
"Daddy Chris strikes again," Roman laughed.

She could hear them on the other side of the door. She held her hand over her mouth, trying to drown her own laughter so they wouldn't know she was listening. Their footsteps walked away from her room and once again she looked around before kicking off her shoes and laying back down on the bed, cuddling the stuffed tiger to her chest. She fell asleep quickly and slept until Chris woke her up for dinner.

Chris, Jessica and their children did their best to make her feel welcome, dragging her into the conversation around the dinner table as if she had always been a part of the family. Once dinner was over, she retreated to her room again where she finally unpacked before crashing on the bed once again, allowing sleep to take over.


	6. Believer

She woke up next morning and went straight to the bathroom across from her room. She quickly showered and brushed her teeth before getting dressed in a pair of dark blue denim shorts and a black and red striped top and heading for the livingroom. To her surprise she found Seth in there, sitting on the couch, playing playstation.

"You're here early," she said.  
"Oh hi," he said as he quickly turned his head to greet her before looking back at the screen. "Chris called me. He forgot he promised to take his family to visit Jessica's parents. He'll be back later this afternoon but wife and kids will stay the night with her parents."  
"So he thought I needed a babysitter?" She asked with a smile as she walked over to him.  
"He also told me to give you this," he said and handed her a key. "Your key for the house."  
"Wow, that's... wow," she said.  
"What? You live here now. You didn't think you'd be getting a key?" He chuckled.  
"The thought hadn't actually crossed my mind," she admitted. "So, what are you playing?"  
"Batman: Arkham Asylum," he answered.

She walked over to the shelf with the games and started looking through them until she found Tekken Tag. She took it out and turned around with it in her hand.

"I challenge you, mr Rollins," she said.  
"Oh yeah?" He looked at the game she was holding. "You're on."

She walked over to the playstation and put in the game before grabbing a controller next to it and went to sit down on the couch next to Seth. The game started and they picked their characters.

"Anna and Julia?" He chuckled. "Let's see how you do against Nina and Eddie."  
"I'm gonna make you my bitch," she said.  
"We'll see about that," he laughed.

They started the game and he immetiately realized it was far from her first time playing it. They went at it and just as she thought she had the upper hand, the controller was suddenly snatched from her hand.

"Hey!" She yelled.

She turned her head to see a grinning Dean that held the controller out of her reach. The sound of a voice saying K.O. hit her and she turned to look at the screen to see she had lost.

"That's not fair! That's cheating!" She shouted.  
"What are you gonna do about it, pumpkin?" Dean mocked her.  
"I'm gonna sit here and be mad the rest of the day," she pouted her lips as she crossed her arms and leaned back in the couch.  
"Oh no, you won't," Roman said from behind her.

Before she could react, she felt his hands under her arms and she was dragged backwards over the back of the couch until she finally stood on the floor, tilting her head backwards against his chest, looking up at his laughing face.

"You guys suck when you team up like that," she said.  
"That's what brothers do, baby girl," he said.  
"Tell me about it," she said.

She wanted to bite her tongue when she saw the looks on their faces. She hadn't meant to say it like that but she knew they all thought the same. Dexter had been like a brother to her the way they were like brothers to each other.

"I'm sorry," she said lowly and looked down at her feet.  
"You have nothing to be sorry about," Roman assured her.  
"Still... I'm sorry," she said again.  
"Let's just forget about it and get out of here," Seth said and got up from the couch. "The sun is shining and we got a beautiful girl on our hands. We can't let that go to waste."  
"Have you eaten?" Roman asked.  
"Not yet," she answered.  
"Okay, first stop: breakfast," he said.

Hours had passed. They had started with breakfast as promised and then moved on to show her the town. After a couple of hours they had had lunch and now they were taking a walk on the beach.

"This would be somewhat romantic if there wasn't three of you," she said jokingly.  
"And which one of us would you have prefered being alone with?" Dean asked and stuck out his tongue.  
"I don't know. I don't really do romance or boyfriends for that matter," she answered.  
"I find that hard to believe," Roman said.  
"Don't get me wrong. I do sex. Oh sweet lord, throw me down and fuck me, please," she laughed. "But relationships? Nah, been there, done that, trying to forget it."

They laughed at her sex statement but quickly stopped when she continued.

"What happened?" Seth asked.  
"Somehow I always end up with the cheating ones. I finally realized that I must have some flaw in my system when it comes to picking out men so one day I just said 'fuck it' and decided to never go down that path again," she answered.  
"That sounds rather lonely," Roman said.  
"Sometimes but I don't mind. Rather lonely that hurt, right?" She smiled at him.

Roman placed his hand between her shoulder blades, gently rubbing her. He didn't know what to answer to that so he just touched her to let her know she had found friends in the three of them.

"But to answer my own question from before," Dean suddenly broke the awkward silence. "I know you would choose me."  
"Please!" Seth snorted.  
"Come on! Look at me and then look at you," Dean said.  
"I can make girls drop their pants just by looking at them," Seth said.  
"I don't need to make girls drop their pants. Why choose the ones in pants when you can just push up the skirt for quicker access?" Dean asked.

Roman rolled his eyes but Piper couldn't help but laugh.

"See! Even she's on board," Dean said and pointed at her. "By the way, pumpkin, next time wear a skirt instead of shorts."

He winked at her but Roman cut in right away.

"Hey, hey! Enough!" He said in a firm voice. "Besides, we all know baby girl wants a big man like me."  
"Size doesn't matter!" Seth spat.  
"Keep telling yourself that and maybe one day you'll meet someone who'll believe you," Roman chuckled.

While Seth and Roman was bickering for fun, Dean suddenly grabbed her and swung her over his shoulder.

"You can't have her!" He shouted.

He ran out on the jetty with her. Roman and Seth quickly ran after them but he had a good head start.

"Dean?" She asked nervously.  
"Mine!" He laughed.

She felt him jump and before she realized what happened, they both crashed down in the water. He held on to her waist as he dragged them both up to the surface again, making sure she was safe.

"Dean, you idiot!" Seth laughed.  
"You want her so bad, come get her!" Dean yelled.  
"You alright, baby girl?" Roman asked.  
"Who knew Dean had it in him to get me wet?" She joked.  
"I'm breaking up with you, you cruel woman," Dean pouted.

He placed his hands on her hips and lifted her up towards Roman and Seth who quickly grabbed her hands and dragged her up from the water. Dean placed his hands on the jetty and pulled himself up.

"Alright, time to go home and get you into some dry clothes," Roman said.  
"What about me?" Dean asked.  
"You want to get into her clothes as well?" Roman chuckled.  
"Since you put it that way..." Dean started.  
"No!" Roman and Seth cut him off at the same time.  
"Assholes!" Dean chuckled. "Fine, I'll go home to myself and get changed and then meet up with you again."

Once they got back to the house, Chris had gotten back home as well. Seth and Roman quickly filled him in on their day while she went to get changed. Once she was ready again, they all took off again to meet up with Dean at a local restaurant for dinner.

"We got a surprise for you," Chris said once they were done with dinner.  
"More surprises? Like you haven't surprised me enough this weekend. You've turned my entire world upside down," she said.  
"You're gonna like this one," Chris said. "Karaoke."  
"Really?" She lit up in a huge smile.  
"Yeah, the rest of the gang is meeting us there. We're gonna have a hell of a party since we don't have to fly out until tomorrow evening," Chris said.

She was trying her hardest to keep up with them but holy shit, these guys could drink. She was getting drunk fast but she had so much fun and she knew she was safe among them that she just let go. One by one they all took turns on the stage during the night and when Roman, Seth and Dean went up there together, everyone was wondering what they were up to.

"Okay, this song goes out to one special woman," Roman said.  
"She broke our hearts!" Dean yelled.  
"It's alright, brother," Seth pretended to comfort her.  
"She broke our fucking hearts!" Dean yelled again, making everyone laugh at the show they were putting on.  
"This one is for you, baby girl," Roman said.

Everyone started shouting with laughter as they started singing Miley Cyrus' song "Wrecking Ball". It sounded horrible and the fact that they played it up like she really had broken their hearts only made it so much more fun.

"You guys are dicks," she laughed as they came back to the table.  
"You sure you don't want this dick?" Dean asked jokingly as he grabbed his crotch.  
"No, I actually like to be able to feel the guy inside me during sex," she shot him down.  
"Burn!" Baron shouted across the table.  
"God damn it, baby girl," Roman laughed as he placed his arm around her shoulders. "You're one wicked woman."

He kept his arm around her shoulders while leaning in to kiss her cheek. He held her tight and even though it felt really good, she also felt like the alcohol was close to making them cross a line that she wasn't sure they should cross.

"You know I come with a warning, right?" She asked.  
"A warning?" He chuckled.  
"Yeah, listen up," she said and got up.

He watched as she went to pick out a song and then entered the stage. His face fell as she started singing My Darkest Days' song "Save Yourself". It hurt him to know that was how she saw herself but he tried to smile as she continued singing the song.

 _"Save yourself_  
 _From the choices I make 'cause nothing but failure follows me"_

She was smiling when she finished the song but he knew it was just a facade she put up, pretending to be happy. He was a fool for thinking that one night at a karaoke bar could take away all the pain she had felt over the past two weeks.

"I didn't like that," he whispered in her ear as she sat down next to him again.  
"Tough crowd," she tried laughing it off.  
"Baby girl, I know you're hurting but we're gonna get you through this. You just have to stay strong," he said and took her hand.  
"Good advice," she rolled her eyes.  
"Pick another song. A survivor song. Let us know how you fight," he suggested.

She thought about it for a few seconds before looking into his eyes.

"Okay, but only if you promise to make everyone shout the word 'pain' everytime it's being sung in the choros," she said.  
"Pain? I said survivor song," he said.  
"Trust me," she giggled.

Once again she walked over to pick a song and walk up to the stage. When Imagine Dragons' song "Believer" started, it all made sense to him. He flashed her a huge smile while listening to her sing.

 _"I was broken from a young age_  
 _Taking my sulking to the masses_  
 _Writing my poems for the few_  
 _That look to me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me_  
 _Singing from heartache from the pain_  
 _Taking my message from the veins_  
 _Speaking my lesson from the brain_  
 _Seeing the beauty through the..."_

She looked out at the group of men who were all just staring at her. When they all roared out the word "pain" as she started the choros, she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

 _"Pain!_  
 _You made me a, you made me a believer, believer_  
 _Pain!_  
 _You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer_  
 _Pain!_  
 _Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain_  
 _My life, my love, my drive, it came from..._  
 _Pain!_  
 _You made me a, you made me a believer, believer"_

They were all cheering like crazy when she finished the song. She was still one huge smile and the second she came back to the table, Roman stood up, grabbed her and swung her around.

"Final round!" The bartender suddenly shouted.  
"Alright, let's wrap this up and take the party to my place," Chris said.

She woke up next morning with a pounding head and a memory that didn't serve her too good. She remembered everything at the bar, she remembered leaving the bar, she remembered continuing the party at Chris' home. Last thing she remembered was downing shots with Dean and then everything went blank.

She tried turning around and to her horror she felt she was being pinned down by something, or rather someone, who had a strong arm around her waist. When the realisation hit her that she wasn't alone in bed, first then did she feel a body pressed up against her back as well. She reached her hand down to feel the arm, hoping she somehow would recognize it, but she had no idea who it was. Someone big from the size pressed up against her. That left her with Roman, Dean, Baron and Randy. She reached up behind her head and gently felt on the other person's head and got a hold of long hair. Okay, so not Randy and Dean which made her sigh in relief. She really didn't feel like waking up in the same bed as Randy.

"What did I do?" She whispered to herself.  
"Nothing," Roman's groggy voice sounded from behind her.  
"Oh, it's you," she felt a stone drop from her heart.  
"Who else would it be?" He asked surprised.

He loosened his grip around her so she could roll around to face him.

"What are you doing in my bed?" She asked.  
"You don't remember?" He asked.  
"Last thing I remember is downing shots," she said.  
"You sure could down a lot. Kinda makes sense why you don't remember anything after that," he chuckled.  
"So fill me in," she said.  
"You challenged me for a fight," he said.  
"I would never... okay, that totally sounds like something I would do. So how did we end up here?" She asked.  
"You launched at me and I grabbed you and ran with you. We tumbled in here to fight in your bed. Dean filmed the whole thing on his phone so you can see it," he answered.  
"Did I win?" She asked jokingly.  
"I'm in your bed. Do you see that as a win?" He asked and stuck out his tongue.

She looked down both of them to see they were still in their clothes from last night.

"I'm not sure. We're not naked," she said jokingly.  
"Naughty girl," he chuckled. "No, we fought a little for fun, then we ended up just talking and when we realized Dean and the others had left, we just stayed here and continued talking. Eventually you fell asleep and apparently so did I," he said.

She nodded and smiled. There had been nothing going on. No forbidden lines had been crossed. They had talked and nothing else even though she couldn't remember any word from their conversation.

"So we're leaving tonight but we'll be back next weekend. I'd like to take you out when we get back," he said.  
"Huh?" She looked at him as if she didn't have a clue what he was talking about.  
"On a date," he added.  
"You don't want that," she said.  
"Why else would I say I do?" He asked.

She sighed and pushed herself up to sit.

"You don't wanna date someone like me," she said.  
"Why not?" He asked.  
"Too much baggage," she answered.  
"It doesn't scare me," he said.  
"Roman, it's not like I'm not thrilled about you asking me out. I'm ecstatic. But like I told you yesterday, I don't do those kinds of things," she said.

He sat up too and took her hands.

"I'm not like your cheating exes and who says it'll even go that far for us? It's just one date to get you one on one and get to know you," he said.  
"The answer is still no," she said.  
"Think about it, okay? I refuse to take that no today where we're both hungover and tired. Think about it while we're gone. If it's still no when we get back, I'll accept it," he said.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek before getting out of bed and walking out of her room.


	7. Sneaky bastards

"I need to talk to you," Roman said.

He dumped down on the seat next to Chris. As always Chris sat in the back of the tour bus. They had flown out two days earlier and Roman had been thinking things through in his head and finally come to the point where he thought it was best to involve Chris.

"You wanna take Piper out," Chris stated.  
"How do you know?" Roman asked surprised.  
"Please! We all saw the way you two were around each other Sunday. You had puppy love in your eyes and quite frankly, so did she," Chris said.  
"So you're okay with it?" Roman asked.  
"I know I pretend to be the evil daddy monster when it comes to her but she's a grown woman and she can make her own choices. And if I have to choose someone I work with to date her, it sure would be you," Chris said.  
"Only problem is that she's too afraid to go out with anyone. She plays it off cool like it's no big deal but she's afraid. She hasn't been too lucky in the past with men apparently," Roman sighed.  
"Well, we just have to come up with a plan then, don't we?" Chris winked.

Friday quickly came, the day where they would return home from the road. Late that afternoon Piper was sitting in her room, just watching different YouTube videos to make time pass by.

"Piper?" Jessica knocked on the already open door.  
"Hi Jessica," Piper smiled at the woman who allowed her to stay in their house.  
"I got something for you. I saw it earlier when I was out shopping and I thought it was just you," Jessica said and handed Piper a short, grass green dress.  
"It's beautiful," Piper said.  
"Try it on. I'll wait outside," Jessica said.

A couple of minutes later Piper came out with the dress on.

"I knew it. It's so you. It matches your eyes," Jessica smiled.  
"It really is beautiful," Piper said and hugged Jessica. "Thank you."  
"Don't worry about it. I do have a favour to ask you though," Jessica said.  
"Anything," Piper said.  
"Chris will be home any second and he wants to take us both out for dinner and I did drop the kids off for the night but I'm stuck with work. Can you go out with him? It'll give me enough time to finish my work when I got the house to myself, and him and I can have a more private date later when you get back," Jessica said.  
"Of course. You want me to find somewhere else to spend the night so you can get the house to yourself?" Piper asked.  
"Oh honey, we've got three kids. We know how to be quiet," Jessica laughed and winked.

They both heard the front door open and shortly after Chris' voice reached them both.

"Baby? Piper? Anybody home?" He yelled.  
"We're coming, baby!" Jessica yelled back.

The two women walked side by side out to greet him. Jessica launched herself into his arms for a hug and kiss.

"Nice dress," Chris said once he looked at Piper.  
"Jessica got it for me," Piper said.  
"You did?" Chris looked at his wife. "You always have the best taste."  
"I thought she could wear it while you two go out for dinner. I'm drowning in work but I promise to have it done once you get back," Jessica said.  
"Sounds good to me. Piper?" Chris held out his arm.

Piper giggled as she walked over and hooked her arm into his.

"Have fun, kids," Jessica said teasingly.  
"Love you, baby," Chris looked over his shoulder at his wife.  
"Love you too," Jessica said.

Chris drove them both to the restaurant. It was a cozy little place where they could sit privately which she knew he liked due to being famous. A waiter escorted them to a table and she sat down.

"I just gotta use the bathroom real quick," he excused himself and walked away.

She started looking through the menu and not even a minute later, the chair across from her was pulled out and someone sat down.

"That was quick," she said.

She looked up from the menu and her jaw dropped.

"Roman?" She asked surprised.  
"Hey, baby girl. What looks good on the menu?" He asked casually.  
"What are you doing here?" She asked.  
"I'm on a date with you," he answered.  
"You sneaky bastard. Where's Chris?" She asked.  
"Out on a date with Jessica," Roman chuckled.  
"You two have been working together on this," she shook her head but couldn't keep the smile from her face.

He reached over and took her hand while smiling back at her.

"I told you I would accept it if it was still a no by the end of the week. I just never gave you the chance to answer," he chuckled.  
"I didn't know you had it in you," she chuckled too.  
"If you really wanna get out of here, I'll take you home," he said.  
"Anyone playing me like that deserves the date," she laughed.  
"I'm glad to hear it," he said and gave her hand a squeeze. "By the way, you look smoking in that dress."  
"Of course. Jessica is in on it too," she said and shook her head again.

She found herself relaxing all through dinner. He was so easy to talk to and be around and she had to admit that she was having a great time with him. They seemed to share the same humour and the conversation never felt awkward between them so when he suggested they'd go for a late night walk after dinner, she accepted. They walked through town until they found a late night coffee shop. With a coffee each they found a quiet place outside and a bench to sit on.

"So what happened between you and your foster family?" He asked.  
"Wow, diving right in, are we?" She tried laughing it off.  
"Sorry, it's just that last Sunday in your drunken state of mind, you tried to tell me something but you stumbled over the words and I couldn't make any sense of it," he said.

She sighed and looked down and he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said.  
"They were extremely Christian. Not like those normal people having their faith in peace inside their own homes but those extreme ones you often hear about on tv whenever they do all sorts of crazy shit," she said.

He kept holding her hand while his thumb gently graced her skin, silently urging her to continue.

"I don't remember my parents. I was only 2 when they died. A car drove straight into my mother's side of the car, killing her instantly. My father didn't wear a seat belt so he went out the front window. Only thing that saved me was that I was in the back seat and didn't take much of the hit," she said.  
"Shit! You were in the car?" He asked. "Baby girl, I'm so sorry."  
"Don't be. I don't remember anything. I was too young. I got thrown into foster care and they never missed a day telling me I wasn't a real part of their family. I wasn't a real child. I was a bastard child because my parents weren't married and the car crash was god's way of punishing me for being born outside of marriage. It was my fault that my parents were killed," she said.  
"Jesus," he said, immetiately regretting choosing that word. "I mean, fuck! No one deserves being told that."  
"Doesn't really matter," she shrugged her shoulders.  
"Yes, it does. No wonder you're so afraid of getting attached to people when you grew up around crazy people like that," he said.

He let go off her hand and instead wrapped both arms around her and dragged her in to lean up against his chest. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"You got us now. Me, Chris, Seth, Dean... everyone. None of us will play around with your feelings like that," he assured her.  
"I know," she said.  
"And we're gonna earn your trust," he said.  
"You're doing pretty good so far," she said.

They finished their coffees to a lighter conversation and afterwards he drove her home. The house was dark, indicating that either Chris and Jessica weren't home yet, or they had already retreated to the bedroom for some alone time. Roman followed her to the door to say goodbye.

"So I'm kinda rusty in this whole dating game. How do people end it? A kiss on the cheek or on the mouth or something else?" She felt stupid asking.  
"I'll settle for a hug if that's what you're comfortable with," he said and leaned down to hug her.  
"You can kiss me if you want," she giggled into his hair.  
"Baby girl, you don't say stuff like that. I'd rather sneak up on you and surprise you for the first kiss," he chuckled.  
"Oh well, just putting it out there," she said.  
"You're crazy," he laughed as he released her.  
"So I've been told many times," she said. "Anyway, I had a really good time. Goodnight Roman."

He smiled at her and she turned around to unlock the door. She heard the lock click and took out the key. Before opening the door, she turned around to see if he had made it back to his car. She was taken by surprise when his lips met hers and he gently pushed her up against the door. It was a short kiss but a hot kiss nonetheless and she couldn't help but run her fingers through his hair, trying to pull him even closer. He smiled against her lips as he slowly broke the kiss and moved his head back to look at her.

"You sure got the surprise element down," she said.  
"Goodnight baby girl," he said with a smile before finally turning around and walking back to his car.

She couldn't keep the smile from her face as she watched him drive away and she felt like a giggling school girl as she entered the house. She walked through it to her room and just as she reached it, the light in the hallway got turned on and Chris stood there.

"Did you have fun?" He asked.  
"I did. But you are all some sneaky bastards, you know that, right?" She laughed.  
"We know but as long as you had fun, that's all that matters," he said. "Besides, we all felt like you could use a friendly push."  
"You were right. Thank you, Chris. Not just for this but for everything you've done for me so far," she said.  
"Don't mention it," he smiled. "Sleep tight, Piper."


	8. We're even

"She's not here," Chris said as he let Roman into the house next day close to noon.  
"Where is she?" Roman asked.  
"I don't know. She went out this morning. Here," Chris said and handed Roman his phone. "Her phone number."

Roman took out his own phone and quickly put her number into it. Just as he handed the phone back to Chris, the front door opened and she came in. She smiled warmly by the sight of Roman.

"You're here," she said.  
"I'm here," he said and walked over to her, leaning down for a quick peck since Chris was watching them. "I thought I'd take you to lunch if you're up for it."  
"Sure," she said. "But first, good news. I got a job."  
"You did? Where?" Chris asked.  
"Nothing fancy. This small place downtown that serves coffee and ice cream. Starting Monday morning at 8," she answered.  
"A job is a job," Chris said and smiled.  
"Bring the kids by. You still have to pay for the ice cream but I promise to serve them with a smile," she laughed. "Everyday from 8 AM to 4 PM. Well, Fridays only to 2 PM. Weekends off. But it's a job. It's starting over."  
"It's good," Chris said.  
"Starting over. I'm proud of you, baby girl," Roman said as he escorted her towards the front door.

They found a quiet place for lunch and sat there for about an hour, just eating and talking, getting to know each other even more. After they were done, he felt kind of nervous, not sure if he should be asking her so soon but he couldn't stop himself.

"You wanna see where I live?" He asked.  
"You naughty boy," she laughed.  
"No, not like that. I promise to keep my hands to myself," he quickly said.  
"And if I don't want you to?" She gave him a dirty look and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Sure, show me where you live."

She wasn't sure what she had expected but surely nothing this big. She felt out of place as he gave her the giant tour of the house. The rooms seemed endless but he just walked through the house as if it was no big deal. He finally stopped in front of a closed door.

"I'm not sure I should show you this room," he said.  
"Why not?" She asked.  
"It's the bedroom," he said, his tone clearly telling her what would happen if she allowed him to open the door.  
"Roman," she said lowly as she stepped close to him and reached for his shirt to pull him down for a kiss. "Open the door."

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close as his mouth devoured hers while his other hand reached for the handle to open the door. They stumbled inside the bedroom, still wrapped up in the kiss, and he guided her towards the bed. He stopped as they reached it and pulled away enough to look her in the eyes.

"Final warning," he said.  
"Throw me on the bed and fuck me," she said.  
"I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna lay you on the bed and..." He said.  
"Don't!" She cut him off with a giggle. "Don't you dare say those cheesy words."  
"Fine!" He roared in a dark voice. "I'm gonna throw you on the bed and fuck you."

He grabbed her dress and pulled it off her in one swift move before lifting her up and throwing her on the bed. She couldn't help but laugh as she landed, watching how he pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside. He jumped on the bed, moving up between her legs, sitting on his knees while his lips found her neck and started kissing down her body. He reached behind her to take the bra off her, throwing it somewhere on the floor while he continued kissing down her stomach. He hooked his fingers in her panties, looked up at her one last time to be sure, and then pulled them down her legs while he stepped out of bed again.

His eyes took in her naked form while he opened his shorts. He pulled them down fast along with his boxers and in no time he was back between her legs, his mouth demanding hers again, his hand reaching between them to play with her. He growled as he felt how easy his fingers slipped inside her, how wet she was, and how she squeezed him and moaned lowly.

"Baby girl," he said in a low, hoarse voice as his lips moved to her ear. "Tell me what you like."  
"Doggy style," she whimpered as he shoved his fingers inside her even deeper.  
"I figured you'd be a naughty one," he chuckled. "And we will get there but first I wanna see how you look when I fuck you and when I make you cum."  
"You seem very sure of yourself that you're gonna be able to do that," she giggled.  
"Oh trust me, baby girl, you will cum," his voice dropped low again. "Again and again and again."

He pulled his fingers out of her but quickly grabbed his dick and lined it up at her entrance. He watched her carefully as he started pushing in, his smile growing as she bit her lip and grabbed on tighter to his shoulders.

"Fucking hell, Roman," she hissed once he was fully inside.

He let out a chuckle and then started moving his hips, thrusting into her as he bowed his head down again to attack her neck with his mouth. The more she moaned, the more he moved, thrusting faster and harder, wanting nothing but to continue hearing her voice. As he felt her start tighten, he leaned his head back out enough to watch her as he kept thrusting into her. She arched her back as she cried out loud, digging her nails into his skin, feeling nothing but pure bliss as he continued thrusting through her orgasm.

"Told you," he said triumphantly.  
"You dick!" She slapped him laughingly.  
"Don't pretend like you don't like this dick," he laughed.

Before she could answer, he pulled out of her, grabbed her hips and swung her around on all four. He had gotten what he wanted as he watched her come undone due to what he did to her, now he wanted to give her what she had asked for. He grabbed her hips again, thrust himself into her once more and started moving like a mad man. With each thrust he hit harder and she couldn't control her moaning or her shaking as he sent her straight into a second orgasm. Her cumming so soon again only seemed to make him thrust in even harder and she dropped her upper body down on the bed, buried her head in a pillow while clenching her fists at the soft fabric of the pillowcase. She felt like he was tearing her to pieces when a third orgasm hit and she almost felt relieved as he roared behind her and finally followed her over the edge as well.

He fell over her, holding himself up with his hands on each side of her body while he placed small kisses on her back. He finally pulled out of her and rolled down on his back next to her, grinning at her like a naughty child before pulling her down in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I normally don't take women to bed this fast," he said.  
"And I normally don't date. I say we're even," she laughed.

He laughed and leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead.

"You wanna call Chris and say you're not coming home for the night?" He asked.  
"You have a funny way of asking me to stay," she said.  
"I could just tie you to the bed and not give you a choice," he joked.  
"Yes, please!" She shrieked.

He rolled her over on her back and crawled on top of her again, pinning her arms down on either side of her head.

"Don't think I won't," his eyes turned dark.  
"I'm just gonna repeat myself. Yes, please," she begged.


	9. Bad girl

She crawled around on the floor, trying to make as little noise as possible while also trying to shield the light from her phone. She had turned on the flashlight on it but didn't want too much light to fill the room. She had quickly found her panties and was wearing them again but she was in search of her bra.

"Where the hell did you throw it?" She mumbled.

She could turn on the light but she didn't want him to wake up. She didn't want to see the look on his face or answer any questions that might follow if he knew she was planning to leave in the middle of the night. She just wanted to sneak out and go home as so many times before.

Her face lit up in a smile as her hand suddenly felt the fabric of her bra and she pulled it out from under the dresser. She heard the click of a switch and more light filled the room as he turned on the lightlamp next to the bed.

"What are you doing?" He asked sleepily.  
"Nothing. Go back to sleep," she gave him an innocent smile as she raised her head from the floor.

He sat up on the bed as he reached for his phone on the nightstand to see what time it was.

"It's 3 in the morning. What on earth are you doing?" He asked.  
"I was searching for my bra," she said as she stood up and showed it to him. "Found it."  
"You don't need it," he said.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down on the bed. He quickly tore the bra from her hand and tossed it across the room again. He pushed her back down on the bed, slowly kissing up her neck as his fingers found her panties.

"You don't need these either," he said as his fingers dove inside, hooking the waistband, trying to pull them down her legs again.  
"Roman," she whispered.  
"I know what you're doing," he said and ran his tongue down her neck. "You're trying to sneak out."  
"So?" She asked.  
"So, I never should have untied you again if I had known you were gonna run out on me," he said.

She laughed but her laughter quickly turned to a little moan as his tongue ran further down, crossing her chest, finding a nipple to toy with.

"You forget there's a flaw in that plan of yours to run away from me," he said as he moved to the other nipple.  
"What?" She asked, followed by another moan.  
"I know where you live," he said.  
"You sound very creepy now," she giggled.

He left her breasts and ran his tongue down her stomach while his hands finally got the panties off her. They too went flying across the room as he laid down on his stomach and looked up at her. The nightlamp illuminated most of her face and he couldn't help but feel lucky about having her in his bed. He moved his hand up, his thumb slowly starting to torment her clit as he kept his eyes locked on her.

"Roman," her voice was pleading.  
"You're not gonna try and sneak out on me again, are you?" He asked teasingly.  
"I don't know. No promises," she said.  
"Baby girl, I can keep this slow torment up for hours. I'll tie you down again, torment you and stop everytime you're close. I'll have you begging before breakfast," he said in a dark voice. "So one more time. You're not gonna try and sneak out on me again, are you?"  
"No," she whimpered.  
"That's my girl," he said lowly.

He moved his hand and instead let his tongue continue to play. His fingers moved down to push inside her instead, thrusting into her at a steady pace while his tongue sent her to places she never thought she'd go. He had her right where he wanted and it didn't take him many minutes to work her into one hell of an orgasm. He worked his tongue and fingers through it, not stopping until her body started relaxing. He kissed his way back up her stomach until he finally reached her lips again and gave her a passionate kiss. She reached her hand between him, wanting to repay the favour, but he pushed it away with a chuckle and instead turned off the nightlamp and pulled her into his arms.

"Sleep, baby girl," he said.  
"That hardly seems fair to you," she tried.  
"No, what isn't fair is for me to wake up alone. Bad girl," he chuckled.  
"Sorry," she whispered. "Old habit."  
"I hope I did a convincing job in making you stay," he said and kissed her again.  
"You did," she giggled against his lips. "At least for the rest of this night."  
"Is that a challenge? Because there's more of that for every other night I'll get you into my bed," he laughed.  
"Who says I'll jump back into it?" She asked teasingly.  
"I'll make you!" He growled and caught her bottom lip with his teeth.


	10. Wanting to start over

14 days had passed since the weekend in Roman's house. Her job was easy. There really wasn't anything new and exiting about serving coffee and ice cream on a daily basis. The only thing that changed was the faces passing through.

After the first week Roman had convinced her to spend yet another weekend in his house and it all just seemed even more clear to her after starting her new job. They were worlds apart. He was a successful man with fans and money and a giant house, and she was nothing but a poor woman that probably never would get any further in life than where she was now. People would undoubtedly make her out to be a golddigger if the story about her and Roman fooling around ever hit the news. So she did her best to fly under the radar, refusing to go out to dinner but playing it off as if she just wanted to stay in with him. No reason to let him in on what was going on. After all, he had to struggle with the same thoughts too. They were the truth.

And now it was Friday again and they were on their way home from a week of hard work. Both her and Jessica looked up as they heard the car drive into the driveway. As always Jessica smiled widely, knowing her husband would walk through the door any second now. The front door opened and Chris entered followed by Roman. Hugs and kisses were given out quickly as they all greeted each other.

"Everything good around here?" Chris asked.  
"Yeah, same old, same old. The kids are in the livingroom," Jessica answered.  
"And you?" Chris looked at Piper. "Anything new under the sun in your world?"  
"This guy at work offered me to be his roommate," she answered.  
"What?" Roman asked.  
"He has a free room I can rent," she answered, not knowing how else to make herself clear.  
"You don't need that. You live here," Chris said.  
"I live here for free. Everyday I feel like I owe you more and more for everything you're doing for me. I need to start my own life again," she said.  
"And you think a small room in a guy's apartment is gonna do that for you?" Chris seemed angry.  
"At least I'll be paying rent and buying my own food again," she said.  
"No!" Chris raised his voice.  
"I don't need your permission. You're not my dad," she bit back.  
"I said no!" Chris said.

Trying to ease the tension and stop a fight that might be starting, Roman stepped in between them and squeezed her shoulder.

"Why don't you go get your stuff and we'll get out of here for the weekend?" He asked softly.  
"Be sure to ask daddy here for permission to sleep with me first," she snorted.

She turned on her heel and walked to her room to pick up the bag she had already packed.

"Roman..." Chris started.  
"I know. I'm with you. But not now, Chris, not now," Roman said.

Chris nodded as she came walking back. She walked past him and opened the front door.

"Piper," Chris called softly after her.  
"Don't worry, I'll be back before curfew Sunday," she said as she walked out of the house.

They were both quiet in the car on their way to Roman's house. He knew she was mad and he didn't know what to say. He didn't want to make her even more mad. He could see it from both points of views. Of course she wanted to move on and start a new life and of course Chris only wanted what was best for her.

"You wanna go out for dinner?" He asked as he put her bag down in the bedroom.  
"Nope, I wanna stay in all weekend and never leave this bed," she said as she jumped up on the bed.  
"That sounds like fun," he smirked.  
"You're welcome to join me," she said.

He crawled up on the bed, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close for a deep kiss.

"Soon I'll be able to spend more time with you," he said lowly as his teeth nippled on her earlobe. "The Summer is always packed with stuff but soon we won't have to be gone entire weeks at the time."

She didn't know what to answer so she just gave him a little moan in return as he once again nippled on her earlobe, hoping it would be enough answer for him right now.

"Listen, baby girl, Chris has a point," he started.  
"Not you too," she rolled her eyes and pushed her way out of his arms.  
"I get you wanna move out and start over. But a room in some guy's apartment?" He asked.  
"What? You think I'll sleep with him?" She fired back.  
"No, I trust you. But it just doesn't seem like starting over. A roommate? It doesn't seem like your thing," he said.  
"It's all I can afford. Selling ice cream doesn't pay well," she said.  
"So let me buy you a place that can be your own," he offered.  
"And then I'll be forever in debt to you," she sighed. "Don't you get it? I don't wanna owe anyone anything. I wanna be my own woman."  
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said. "I just think we should talk about it."  
"The way I see it, you got two options right now. You can keep talking and watch me leave this bed and walk out of here, or you can shut up and fuck me," she said and bit her lip.

He shook his head as a smirk crawled up on his face. He didn't even have to think about those two options. He pulled her close and kissed her while pushing her down on her back, pinning her between his body and the bed. He knew they eventually had to open the talk again and he knew she was playing him to get her way, but damn it, he couldn't resist her. He'd play this game with her all weekend if it meant having her under him, naked and ready, the entire time.


	11. Moving

She had stretched it to the very last second before going back Sunday. Technically it wasn't all on her. Roman was more than willing to stay in bed as long as possible too before finally dragging her out of it and driving her home. Her and Chris practicually just switched seat in his car and the two men headed straight for the airport.

Jessica looked at Piper with a concerned look as the younger woman entered the house. Piper smiled but it didn't reach her eyes as she walked past Jessica and entered her room to go to bed early. None of this was on Jessica but she feared she would say something she would regret if she opened her mouth so going to bed was the most safe option.

She went to work next morning as always. At 2 PM another co-worker came in. It was always around there things started to get busy when the kids got off school and wanted ice cream on the hot Summer days so her boss tried to have more people at work around those hours.

"Hey Silas," she greeted him as she closed the cash register.  
"Hey Piper. How's it going?" He asked.  
"About your proposition... how fast can I move in?" She asked.  
"Whenever you like. The room is just standing there collecting dust," he answered.  
"Is today alright?" She asked.  
"Wow, that's soon but of course. Just a second," he said.

He walked out in the back room and came back shortly after and handed her a key.

"Your key. I have to close this place tonight so I won't be home till late. Just move your stuff in, kick off your shoes and feel right at home. We'll go over the lease when I get home. I already got one made just in case," he said.  
"Thank you, Silas," she said.

She practicually ran out of the place as soon as she got off work at 4 PM. She hurried home and breathed a sigh of relief when she found the house empty. Jessica and the kids were out somewhere and it gave her time. She grabbed the car keys to the car they had told her she could use freely and walked out to attach the trailer behind it. She hurried back inside, threw her stuff in her bags and loaded them on the trailer along with her guitar. The stuffed tiger was put down on the empty passenger seat.

She drove straight to a furniture store. She didn't have much money but she had enough to spend on a cheap mattress. She couldn't afford an entire bed but she needed something to sleep on so a mattress would do to begin with. Later she could upgrade just like she could buy a dresser or a closet later.

She drove everything to Silas' appartment and unloaded it into the empty room that would now work as her home. It looked even more sad with just a mattress and some stuffed bags than it did with nothing in there. She shook her head to get the bad thoughts out of it. It wasn't much but it was home and it was hers. She got back into the car and drove back to Chris' house just to see Jessica's car in the driveway. She parked the car and walked back inside, putting the car keys down on the table as she met a smiling Jessica in the kitchen.

"Out for a drive? You needed something big since you took the trailer too?" Jessica asked warmly.

There wasn't any accusation in her voice. Just pure interest in what Piper might be doing.

"I'm moving," Piper said lowly.  
"I'm sorry?" Jessica asked.  
"I'm moving, Jessica," Piper raised her voice a little. "Right now. All my stuff is already gone."  
"No, don't do it like this. Not behind Chris' back. You know he's gonna get mad," Jessica tried.  
"That's exactly why I have to do it like this. I'm sorry, Jessica, I know I sound like an ungrateful bitch but I'm not. I'm so thankful for everything you've done to me. You welcomed me into your home without even knowing me. That's huge in my world," Piper said.

Jessica walked over and took Piper into her arms.

"Don't go, Piper. Both me and Chris love you. The kids see you as their funny aunt. Stay with us," she said.  
"I can't. I need to do this. I need to be me," Piper said.  
"I understand," Jessica said with a sigh before moving out enough to take Piper's hands instead of hugging her. "But you call us, day or night, if you need anything. And I mean anything. Promise me that."  
"I promise. Thank you, Jessica," Piper said.  
"Don't mention it. Just come around, okay? Don't be a stranger. I get you wanna live your own life but make room for us in it, okay?" Jessica said.  
"Of course," Piper assured her.

The second Piper started walking away from the house, she took out her phone and put it on mute. She knew Jessica would call Chris right away and it would only be a matter of minutes before the calls would start coming in and she really wouldn't wanna bother with anybody on her walk home.

Once she came home she took out her phone and saw a bunch of missed calls from both Chris and Roman. And not only calls, text messages too. She sighed as she dumped down on her mattress and opened the text from Roman.

 _"Baby girl, what did you do? Call me, please."_

She couldn't. Not right now, not tonight. She kept the phone muted and placed it under a shirt so she couldn't see it light up everytime they tried contacting her. She would deal with it tomorrow. Right now she just needed to be herself and breathe on her own. She curled up on her side with the tiger in her arms and just stared at the wall until she finally fell asleep.


	12. Labels

Roman sat outside by the little café table in what should have been a joyful moment with the sun warming him, a cup of coffee in his hand and the sight of Piper walking through the gate. Exactly that sight was what killed the moment. She wasn't walking through it like a normal person. It felt more like she was creeping through it as if she was trying to hide from someone with the long sleeved hoodie on, covering most of her head which she kept down, looking at her feet instead of straight ahead.

It had been three weeks since she moved out of Chris' home and Chris and Roman hadn't been able to do anything other than accept it. It was her choice and it was not up for debate. And Roman got it. He understood her need to do it her way. What he didn't understand was how she slightly changed. He felt it and it scared him. She constantly kept this weird distance between them as if he was slowly losing her.

She still declined going out, he wasn't allowed to see where she lived and she wouldn't even be in the airport when he returned home from the road. She would make her way to his house on her own, hiding under that hoodie everytime, as if she didn't want anybody to know she was with him. He knew five weeks together wasn't a long time but it was long enough for him to know that he didn't want anyone else but her. His schedule was slowly thinning out which meant he was home on certain weekdays as well but now that he was more home and tried to get closer to her, it seemed like she tried to take a step backwards.

"Hi," she smiled warmly as she reached him.

He watched as she got out of the warm hoodie and her body appeared in front of him in a pair of army patterned shorts and a dark grey top. He never cared what she wore. In his eyes she was always beautiful. He just didn't understand why she always hid under that hoodie when it was way too warm to be wearing something like that.

"Are you trying to give yourself a heat stroke in that thing?" He tried joking it off.  
"Just keeping it safe in case some crazy paparazzi is lurking around," she said.  
"Would that be so bad?" He reached for her and pulled her down on his lap, his mouth tickling her neck with small kisses. "I don't mind the world knowing you're mine."  
"Maybe I mind," she said.  
"But I'd like to show the world that you're my girlfriend," he said.  
"Wow, let's not put any labels on it," she said and stood up.

He watched her for a few seconds as she sat down on the chair on the other side of the table. Had he just heard her right? He knew he had. He just couldn't believe it.

"What else would you call this?" He asked.  
"I don't know. Two people having fun?" She suggested.  
"I don't 'have fun' with someone for five weeks. I don't even do one night stands," he said.  
"A shame. You should try it. They can be rather fun," she said.  
"Piper!" His eyes were serious as he caught her eyes. "I thought we had something here. If I'm not your boyfriend then what am I? Your fuck buddy?"  
"I wouldn't call you that either. You're somewhere in between, like a grey zone. I don't know what to call you," she said.  
"Well, when you find out, let me know," he said angrily.

He got up and walked inside, not wanting to blow up in front of her. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before walking to the livingroom, dumping down on the couch and turning the tv on. He sat there for a while, trying to calm himself down, and when he looked at the clock on the wall, he realized he had been sitting there for 20 minutes and she still hadn't come inside. He sighed and pushed himself up from the couch again.

He walked outside, knowing he had made a stupid move to leave her there, but he had just been so angry when she apparently didn't share the same feelings for him as he did for her. They needed to talk. Unfortunately she wasn't there anymore. He ran back his final words and reaction in his head. Of course she had left. The way he had said it and then walked away, of course she thought he wanted her to leave. He needed to find her. He walked back inside to get his car keys. She might not want him to see where she lived but he wasn't giving her a choice this time.

She sighed as she opened the door to the apartment and smelled it right away. Marihuana. Silas was smoking again. If only he would take it outside but he smoked in the apartment and it wasn't only in his room. The livingroom and the kitchen as well, wherever he felt like it. She walked straight to her room, hoping he wouldn't notice her. He had a tendency to become violent when he was high, hint to why they didn't have a livingroom table anymore since he broke it the week prior, so she always stayed far away from him when he smoked. So far she hadn't been in the line of fire.

She felt so stupid for moving in with him after only knowing him for two weeks at work. He clearly wasn't the man she thought he was but she didn't feel like she could crawl back to Chris and admit defeat and no way would she ever let Roman know. His protective side would completely take over and she didn't want him to worry about her. After all, she knew she was just a stepping stone for him until he found someone else, someone better, someone worthy of his high style life. After moving in here she only knew way too well that she would never fit into his world. He deserved someone better than her so she distanced herself from him on purpose, too scared to show her feelings for him, but she knew she was lost. She was lost in everything called Roman Reigns.

She heard the knocking on the front door but she didn't get up from the mattress. No one ever came to visit her. It could only be one of those shady friends that Silas had coming over from time to time so she stayed put while she heard his footsteps walk through the hallway to open the door.

"Roman Reigns?" Silas asked surprised. "Roman Reigns at my fucking door? Holy shit, this grass is the real shit when I'm seeing you."

Roman frowned as he saw the man being high and smelled what Piper had just smelled minutes before. He only had one thought in mind, finding Piper and getting her the hell out of there.

"I'm looking for Piper," he said through gritted teeth as he tried his best to keep his cool.  
"She's in her room," Silas said and pointed towards it.

Roman walked past Silas and straight to her room. He didn't even knock. He just opened the door, stepped inside and closed it behind them. He took a look around at how she lived. He couldn't believe it. No wonder she didn't want him to come here and see that. She had to be ashamed.

"Roman?" She asked confused.  
"You live here?" He asked. "How can you live like this?"  
"I don't need 150 rooms to make a home," she spat.

He sighed and dropped his shoulders. There was no point in disgussing their living situations. That wasn't why he had come.

"Can we talk? No shouting or walking away. Just talk?" He asked.  
"Okay," she said and got up. "But not here. You never know what Silas might do when he's high."  
"He's hurting you?" He felt the anger rise again.  
"Not me. The furniture though," she said as she walked towards the door.

She opened it and looked straight into Silas' phone that he held up to record.

"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled and snapped the phone from his hand.  
"You're fucking Roman Reigns. There's money to be made," Silas said.  
"You fucking asshole!" She growled as she deleted the video.

Luckily he had only gotten her on footage but she still deleted it. Roman walked up next to her and she could feel the anger ooze from his body as he tensed up. She placed a hand on his arm and stopped him from whatever he might be thinking to do.

"No, Roman, just walk out. I'll be right behind you," she said.

She watched as he walked to the front door and not before he was out of sight did she hand Silas' phone back to him. She had a whole speech lined up in her head about how he was an asshole that couldn't be trusted but one look at his eyes rolling around in his high just made her shake her head and walk out of the apartment without another word. Maybe if she was lucky he wouldn't remember anything in the morning. That had happened before.

Roman was waiting for her out on the street, leaning up against his car, clearly still upset about what had went down inside the apartment.

"Piper," he started as she came walking out.  
"No, we're not talking about that. Whatever you came here to talk about, that's what we'll talk about. But first drive us somewhere," she said as she opened the car door.  
"Where to?" He asked.  
"I don't know. Somewhere public but private," she answered.

He could only think of one place. The beach where he, Seth and Dean had taken her the first day. He remembered how happy she seemed for a short while when they had goofed around with her. He parked and took her hand as they walked out on the jetty together to watch the waves.

"I shouldn't have walked away from you earlier today. I was wrong in doing that but you gotta understand that you hurt me," he started.  
"That was never my intention. I actually thought we saw eye to eye in this whole thing," she said.  
"Thing? Is that what you call it?" He asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what to say.

"Are you embarrassed of me?" He asked.  
"What?" She blurted out.  
"You never wanna be seen with me so it's the only thing I can think of," he said.  
"No. If anything, it's the other way around," she said.  
"I'm not embarrassed of you," he said.  
"I'm embarrassed of myself," she said.

He turned to look at her. The wind blew her hair backwards and in his eyes she was picture perfect to look at. He reached his hand forward and placed it on her cheek. She turned her head and looked at him.

"Why?" He asked.  
"You got everything. Money and fame. I'm just a nobody," she said.  
"Don't ever say that about yourself!" He said firmly.  
"People will say I'm only in it for your money," she said.  
"People will spew lies no matter what," he said.  
"It doesn't matter," she shrugged again and looked away from him. "I'm only in your life till you find the right one."

For a couple of seconds he just stared at her wide eyed. Had she really just said that? Didn't she understand that he saw her as the right one?

"Baby girl..." He said softly.

He reached for her to take her in his arms but she sidestepped him.

"You should be happy about me understanding how it goes. You can fool around with whoever you like when you're away and I won't be mad. And when the right one comes along, just tell me. You won't break my heart," she lied.  
"That's not gonna happen. I don't want someone else. Don't you see what you do to me? My head is spinning whenever you're around and my heart is hurting whenever you're not. I can't focus and my mind is always set on you," he said.  
"You're sweet when you try to lie to me like that," she said.  
"I'm not lying! What will it take for me to prove that to you?" He sounded desperate.  
"It doesn't matter if it's true or false. I don't feel for you that way," she said.  
"Now who's lying?" He asked.

She couldn't answer that. She knew she was lying. She was in love with him and had been for a long time. Instead she just turned around and started walking away. She didn't take many steps before he grabbed her wrist, spun her around and pulled her in for a kiss. His arms held her tight and she found herself wrapping her arms just as tight around him, almost clawing at his back to make him stay this close, while she got lost in the kiss. After a little while he broke the kiss but didn't pull his head back much, just enough to catch her eyes and talk to her.

"If you don't feel anything for me, then how come you're kissing me like that instead of continuing to walk away?" He asked.

A small teasing smile crept up on his face and she felt herself tremble just a little. He had her where he wanted, they both knew it in that moment, but she couldn't allow him to feel anything for her. He deserved better. It took all her willpower to place her hands on his chest and push herself out of his arms. She had to swallow hard as she turned around and walked away.


	13. We have cookies

Roman had let her walk away. He had stayed on the jetty and just watched her walk, and even though his heart was breaking more and more for each step she took, he knew he had to. He was far from done with her but he knew he had to let her walk in that moment no matter how much it hurt.

He had driven home afterwards, walking around in his big house that suddenly seemed so empty. She was supposed to be there with him but he had messed it up. He walked through the house, taking in room after room while thinking about what she had said. Did he really need so many rooms to make a home? He knew he didn't but it was still his home and he had hoped in time it would become their home. A silly, secret hope that had planted itself in his brain way too early but it was there nonetheless.

He had waited, wanting to give her space, hoping she would reach out but she didn't. He had waited for two days until he needed to get back on the road. He was in his car on his way to the airport but somehow the car seemed to have a mind on its own and he found himself parking downstairs from her apartment. He wasn't done with her and she needed to know this before he went away.

He ran up the stairs and opened the door to the apartment without even knocking. He could only hope Silas wasn't there and by the looks of it, he was in luck. He went straight to her room and opened the door. She was lying on the mattress, bouncing the stuffed tiger up in the air and catching it again when he came barging in. She sat up wide eyed, clearly surprised by him being there. Without a word he went over to her, dropped down on the mattress next to her, placed a hand behind her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Roman..." She started as they broke the kiss.  
"No, don't speak," he said and leaned his forehead against hers. "I need to say something before I leave to go on the road. You can push all you want but it only makes me pull even harder. I'm not letting you go without a fight. I love you."  
"I..." Again she tried saying something but was cut off by him.  
"You don't have to say anything but I love you, baby girl. So much. I just need you to know that. Think about it while I'm gone," he said.

He kissed her again, silencing her one more time before she even got to open her mouth the third time, and he felt how she pulled her fingers through his hair and responded to his kiss. That was all he needed to know, to feel, right in that moment. Once again he broke the kiss and quickly got up to his feet, walking out of her room, throwing one last look back at her before walking out of the apartment and getting into his car. Finally inside he started smiling as he drove away. He couldn't believe he had actually told her that he loved her but it was the truth and she needed to know.

She was at work Monday when Silas came as usual to work alongside her for the final two hours of her shift. Things had been as usual between them since the phone incident. He hadn't brought it up again. He didn't seem to remember it and she hoped that was the case.

"Hey Piper," he greeted her as he walked in.  
"Hey Silas, what's up?" She asked.  
"Oh, before I forget. I installed smoke detectors in the apartment. One in your room too," he said.  
"You went into my room?" She asked.  
"Jeez, big deal. It's not like you got anything private in there but if it'll make you feel better, I can take it down again and you can install it yourself," he said and rolled his eyes.  
"No, it's fine. Just don't go in there without permission another time," she tried smoothing things out.  
"Sure, whatever you say," he said.

She was happy when her shift ended and she made her way home fast. Her head had been cloudy ever since Roman had come by the day before to tell her those words. Those words she craved to hear, those words she feared to hear. He had to be lying, he had to. There was no other way around it. She dropped down on the mattress with her guitar and started recording.

Shortly after dinner Roman looked at his phone to see she had posted a new video on her YouTube channel. It had been a while since she had posted anything and he just knew it had something to do with him. He felt nervous as he opened it and heard her start singing Within Temptation's song "Utopia". He fought so hard to keep his eyes dry as he listened to the text.

 _"You're holding my hand but you don't understand_  
 _So where I am going, you wont be in the end_  
 _I'm dreaming in colors of getting the chance_  
 _Of dreaming of trying the perfect romance"_

She was lying on the mattress with the tiger on her stomach, just staring up at the smoke detector since it was the only new thing in her room, when her phone started ringing. She didn't know the number but she answered it.

"What are you so afraid of?" A voice asked as the first thing.  
"Dean?" She asked.  
"Hey there, pumpkin. You need me to ask again?" He asked.  
"I'm not afraid," she answered.  
"Listen, pumpkin, I know a thing or two about being hurt and broken and pushed aside by everyone. I know _you_ ," he said.

She hugged the tiger tight, thinking about what the right answer to his question was if there even was a right answer.

"Everyone who matters leave me," she finally said.  
"Is this about Dexter?" He asked.  
"My parents, Dexter. No one who matters stay. Only the other ones so maybe that's how it's supposed to be," she said.  
"Really?" He asked. "So your foster parents mattered? Because correct me if I'm wrong, they left you too. They might still be alive but they kicked you out."

She held on tighter to the tiger, wishing more than ever that Dexter could be there right now. He always knew just what to say to make her feel better.

"Everyone I love dies," she whimpered.  
"Now we're getting somewhere," he said.

She was surprised by his tone. He didn't try to pity her. He just talked to her like it was a normal conversation and it was all she needed right in that moment. Someone pretending things were normal, someone treating her normal.

"It makes sense why you're afraid but Roman's not going anywhere. You got him locked down tight, pumpkin. I've never seen him like this before. He's actually crying because of your latest song," he said.  
"I'm sorry," she muttered.  
"He's not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere, Seth's not going anywhere, Baron's not going anywhere, Randy's not going anywhere, Miz..." He said.  
"Okay, okay, I get it," she cut him off. "You're all still here."  
"Good girl," he chuckled.  
"Asshole," she chuckled too.  
"But I'm your favourite asshole," he said.  
"Always will be," she agreed with him.

There was a small pause for a few seconds. He allowed her to breathe, waiting for her to continue.

"He told me he loved me," she finally said.  
"I know. He told me," he said.  
"Of course he did," she said.  
"Do you love him too?" He asked.

She didn't answer. She just stared up at the smoke detector, thinking about how crazy her life had been ever since Chris contacted her that day on Skype.

"Pumpkin?" His voice broke her thoughts.  
"I'm trying my hardest to tell you no," she said.  
"I knew it," he laughed and started singing. "You love him, you wanna kiss him, you wanna hold him..."  
"Shut up!" She growled laughingly.  
"So what's the problem?" He asked.  
"You already called me out on that. I'm afraid," she answered.  
"Love is supposed to be scary. I believe some wise guy once said that," he said.  
"And look at me. I'm not meant to be in that kind of life. He has everything while I have nothing," she said.  
"I wasn't meant to either. I grew up on the wrong side of town. And yet here I am. I fought through it and made my own life. You can do that too and you got a man waiting for you to join him in that life. I promise you, pumpkin, one day I'm gonna sit down with you and tell you my entire life story and you'll see that you and I are more alike than you might think. And I'm here. I still get scared, I still have times where I think I shouldn't be here but I am. I'm fucking here and everyone who claims I shouldn't be can just fuck off. Tell them all to fuck off, pumpkin, and come join us on the dark side. We have cookies," he said jokingly.  
"It's hard to say no to cookie. Is it chocolate cookies?" She joked back.  
"The best kind," he said.

They both laughed. Somehow everything seemed so easy when Dean twisted it around like that. Why was she so afraid? There was no reason to. It didn't matter to any of them where she came from or how little she had. Once again she just stared at the smoke detector, trying to take in everything Dean was saying, and then she realized something.

"That doesn't look right," she said.  
"What doesn't?" He asked confused.  
"Just a second," she said.

She walked out in the kitchen and grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and carried it into her room. She stood up on it so she could reach the smoke detector and opened it.

"That son of a bitch!" She shouted.  
"Huh? What? Who?" He asked confused.  
"It's a fucking camera!" She shouted.  
"I'm not following," he said.  
"He installed a fucking camera in my room. Undoubtedly hoping to catch me and Roman together," she said.  
"That sick fuck!" He growled. "Listen to me, pumpkin. Where does the wires go?"  
"Up in the ceiling," she answered.  
"So you have an attic. Can you get up there?" He asked.  
"Through his room. I've never really been in there. I guess I can try," she said.

She jumped down from the chair and took it with her into Silas' room. She placed it under the hatch and crawled back up on it. She reached up and opened the hatch and crawled up on the attic.

"There's a fucking computer up here," she said as she walked over to it.  
"Good. Take it along and we'll destroy it when we get back tomorrow," he said.  
"Or I could just delete the footage. He only has our conversation," she said as she clicked her way around the open program on the computer and deleted it. "Oh, the fucker even installed one in the bathroom. Good thing I haven't been in there to pee yet."  
"Find the wires and cut them," he said.

She looked around for the wires and found them. She didn't have anything to cut them with so she just pulled them out, watching as the screen turned black when none of the cameras transmitted anything anymore.

"Okay, I think I need to move," she tried making a joke.  
"Get back to your room and pack your things. I'm gonna make Chris call Jessica to pick you up right away," he said.  
"No, Dean," she tried.  
"Hey, now is not the time to be stubborn. Swallow your pride and go with Jessica. You're not safe in that apartment," he said.  
"Okay, but Roman..." She said, not knowing what she wanted to say.  
"Roman has to know and I will tell him. Don't worry your head with that. Now get packing," he said and hung up.


	14. You've mesmerized my heart

Jessica had pulled up on the street, not knowing exactly which apartment it was, so she just used the horn to signal she was outside. Piper was met by her concerned look as she entered the car and the two twin girls on the back seat who didn't know what was going on.

"Piper!" They both yelled cheerfully.  
"Hey girls," she did her best to smile at them.

Jessica reached over and squeezed Piper's hand. She didn't say anything, that conversation could wait till later when the kids had gone to bed, but her eyes said it all. She was concerned but she was there. Piper just smiled at her and nodded in silent agreement.

That night when the house was finally quiet, Jessica popped open a bottle of wine and handed Piper a glass while they both sank down on the couch.

"What happened, Piper?" Jessica opened the conversation.  
"Silas installed a camera in my room," Piper answered.  
"That I know. Chris told me when he called. I mean with you and Roman," Jessica said.

Piper sighed and quickly emptied her glass. Jessica reached the bottle towards her so she could refill it.

"I don't even know where to start," Piper said. "Maybe the part where he said he loved me."  
"That's a good part. How do you feel about that?" Jessica said.  
"I don't know. Scared, happy, freaked out, weird. How am I supposed to feel? I've never had anyone love me before except for Dexter and he doesn't really count when it comes to boyfriends," Piper answered.  
"I heard a happy in there so let's stick with that," Jessica giggled.

She raised her glass up and Piper did the same. The two women cheered each other before taking a sip each.

"What do you want? Look away from everything you think is right or wrong. Just feel. What do you want?" Jessica asked.

Piper closed her eyes and allowed herself to get in touch with her feelings.

"Him. I want him," she said lowly as tears filled her eyes.  
"Why are you crying, sweetheart?" Jessica asked as she reached for Piper's hand.  
"I think... no, I know that I love him. I just don't know how to tell him," Piper answered. "And I don't feel worthy of his love."  
"I don't ever wanna hear you put yourself down like that. Look around you. My kids adore you and they're not easy to please. Chris and I love you. You just walked straight in here like you always belonged in our family. All the guys talk about how funny and charming you are. And Roman... If you knew half the things he say about you in the locker room. Chris does come home and tell me, you know," Jessica said and winked.  
"Oh god, does everyone know about our sexlife?" Piper asked.  
"No, I believe those parts are for Dean and Seth only," Jessica laughed. "He constantly tells the guys how much you mean to him and how he pictures the future with you. We've all known for a long time he's madly in love with you. You're just the last one to catch on."

Piper looked down at her glass as she slowly twirled it around between her fingers.

"You know what we should do?" Jessica suddenly asked with a big smile on her face.  
"What?" Piper asked.  
"I have an idea and I know you're gonna fight me but take the chance, Piper. Just jump right in, go for it. I promise you won't regret it," Jessica said.  
"You gotta tell me first what it is," Piper said.

Roman followed Chris' car next day when they left the airport. He was anxious to see Piper again after Dean had told him what had gone down in her apartment. He had tried calling but her phone had been turned off all night. Chris had managed to get a hold of Jessica who assured him that Piper was fine and they were having a girl's night in. Roman could accept that. All he wanted was for Piper to feel safe and Jessica could do that.

"Baby?" Chris called out as they entered the house.  
"Hey baby," she called back as she came walking into their point of view.

She walked over to kiss him. Roman looked the way she had come walking from, hoping Piper would follow, but no one came. Jessica pushed herself out of Chris' arms again and looked up at Roman.

"She's not here right now, Roman," she said.  
"Where is she?" Roman asked.  
"She went home," she answered.  
"What? You sent her back to that place?" Chris looked shocked at his wife.  
"No, I said she went _home_ ," she said and winked.  
"And where is that?" Chris asked.

Jessica kept looking up at Roman and suddenly he got it. His face lit up in a smile as he turned around and ran out of the house without a word. It took everything in him not to drive faster than the speed limit. As he pulled into his driveway and saw her sitting up against his front door with the stuffed tiger in her arms and her belongings standing next to him, he almost screamed. He parked the car, jumped out of it and ran to her. She had barely made it to her feet before he was right in front of her, pulling her into his arms, just hugging her tight as if he was afraid she would run off again if he let go.

"I would have waited inside if I had a key," she said into his chest.  
"You'll get a key," he laughed. "As soon as we get inside. There's a spare key in the kitchen. It's yours."

He released his strong hold on her, allowing her to breathe again, as he looked down at her.

"I can't believe you're actually here," he said and smiled.  
"Neither can I," she said. "Someone kind of gave me a kick in the ass."  
"Dean can work wonders sometimes," he chuckled.  
"To be fair, he did promise me chocolate cookies. I'm leaving again if there isn't any," she said jokingly.  
"Shit, I need to go shopping right away," he laughed.

She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss.

"Later. And I'll go with you," she said.  
"You wanna be seen public with me?" He asked.  
"Well, starting with a supermarket. Not so sure about fancy restaurants or big events yet," she answered.  
"I'll take it," he laughed. "But first let's get you inside."

He found the keys in his pocket and unlocked the door. He grabbed her bags and guitar and walked inside the house with her following behind. He put her stuff down on the ground and turned to look at her again.

"I'm gonna sound cheesy now, and I know how much you hate that, but welcome home," he said.  
"As long as you don't say 'make love'. That's way too cheesy," she giggled.  
"Oh, don't you worry about that, baby girl," he said lowly as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up to sit on the nearest table. "I'm still gonna fuck you like always. Long, deep, hard, fast... until you have no breath left to talk or even moan."

His fingers slid up her thighs, under her skirt, to hook her panties and work them down her legs.

"Guess I better hurry to say this before then," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. "I love you, Roman."  
"I love you too, baby girl," he said.  
"Now fuck me," she giggled.  
"You wish is my command," he said as he yanked her to the edge of the table.

He had never been more happy to be home five days straight. It all just felt so natural with her living in the house and even though she had times where her insecurity came through, he was always right by her side, ready to work through it together with her.

"Hey, our girl posted something new!" Chris yelled from the back of the bus.

Every man on the bus made their way down there before Chris pressed play on the video.

 _"My world has been turned upside down in such a short amount of time. There's a lot to tell but I don't wanna bother any of you with my problems. All you need to know is that I'm happy. I met a man and he does things to me that no other man has ever done, both in and out of bed."_

She giggled and winked at her little perverted joke.

 _"Anyway, I know he's watching this video. He's at work while I'm posting and all he needs to know is that I love him. I love you, big dog!"_

"I love you too, baby girl," Roman said as if she could hear him through the screen.  
"Dude!" Dean laughed and slapped Roman's chest. "Big dog? You really made her call you that?"  
"What? She loves doggy style so it kind of came naturally," Roman muttered low enough so only Dean could hear it.

They all watched the screen as she sat with her guitar and started singing Within Temptation's song "Faster". Roman felt a pull in his heart as he stood there, listening to the text, knowing she was singing to him.

 _"I can feel that you've mesmerized my heart_  
 _I feel so free_  
 _I'm alive, I'm breaking out_  
 _I won't give in, cause I'm proud of all my scars_  
 _And I can see I've been wasting too much time"_


End file.
